Thankfulness
Notes
Transcript
ANNOUNCEMENTS
I had a really nice break the last two weeks and I am so thankful to this church for giving us a much needed break.
That being said I am also to be back. I missed each of you and I missed the great privilege of preaching the Word of God from this pulpit.
A group went to see the Bonhoeffer movie last night and it was great. Inspirational and very eye opening.
If you get an opportunity to watch it in the future, I encourage you to do so. It will bless you.
Thursday is Thanksgiving
So we will not be having service this Wednesday
INTRODUCTION
We are going to depart from our series through John briefly to talk about Thanksgiving today.
THANKSGIVING isn’t just an American holiday that we celebrate, it is an essential part of the ChristIan life.
All throughout the Bible, we read of instances where God’s people give Him thanks for a variety of things.
The Psalms are full of Scriptures praising God and thanking God.
And if you turn to the NT, the expectation for God’s people is to be one of gratitude.
Listen to what extent the apostle Paul goes to on this subject of thanks:
in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Paul says we are to give thanks IN EVERYTHING
What is everything?
That is, the good, the bad, and the ugly we are to give thanks to God
He also says that this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus
God’s will for your life and for my life is to be thankful to God in all things.
Now I don’t know about you, but that is difficult at times. When bad things come into my life, I usually do not thank God for them.
When I have worries about the future I don’t thank God for them.
My thanks are normally reserved when something good happens to me, and sometimes even then I forget to thank God for it.
But my hope is that this Thanksgiving Psalm will help us to be more faithful to that NT expectation.
We will be looking at Isaiah chapter 12 today. And chapter 12 is only 6 verses long, but it has some great truths about being thankful that we need to hear again and again. And I would even suggest even this week that you go back and read this Psalm because it will remind you of that we have to be thankful for.
Isaiah 12:1-2
Then you will say on that day, “I will give thanks to You, O Lord; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, And You comfort me. “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.”
The book of Isaiah was written about 700 years before the incarnation of Jesus Christ
During this time, Israel was very prosperous. They were wealthy, they were living in the land flowing with milk and honey, but they were living in complete disobedience to God.
Instead of trusting God for their source and protection, they placed their trust in other nations and themselves.
They had neglected the law of God.
They had neglected true worship of God.
They had broken their covenant with God.
And when Isaiah told them about the judgement that would come they mocked God with arrogance and continued in their disobedience.
And as a result, they were deported from the land of Israel to Babylon into captivity after a terrible seige when many of them died and were killed. And there they stayed for 70 years until God sent them a deliverer, King of Persia (Cyrus) who set them free to go back to Israel and start again.
When Isaiah wrote chapter 12, he was speaking prophetically of a time when God’s anger would be turned to comfort.
(v 1) “In that day” What day is Isaiah speaking of?
Well if we look at Chapter 11 we will see the day of the “root of Jesse”
Isaiah 11:10 (NASB95)
Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.
Jesse was King David’s Father. And this reference to root of Jesse is a reference to Jesus Christ. A King like King David, who would come from the stock of David, yet would be very different from David.
The root of Jesse is a reference to Jesus Christ.
In fact the book of Isaiah is known as the gospel of the OT because it has so many references to the coming of Jesus and a very detailed description of his sacrifice on the cross.
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
So Isaiah is talking about the day when God’s anger will be turned into comfort.
This is fulfilled in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. When God will take the sins of the world and place them on His Son to bear the wrath of God they deserve.
So the day Isaiah is speaking of, is the period in history when people will be able to experience a true salvation from their sin, and stand before God as if they had never sinned
And that day is today. It is the church age, the age of salvation in which we live.
The greatest threat against this life, is that God’s wrath abides upon those who live in disobedience to Him
I saw a news article the other day that quoted Biden saying that “climate change poses a great threat than a nuclear war”. Those writing the article said no he is wrong, nuclear war is the greater threat. I would say they are both wrong and that the wrath of God is the greatest threat.
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
What many do not know in ignorance and many even ignore is that the wrath of God abides upon the sons of disobedience.
What is waiting for the ungodly is terrible wrath of God.
This was our reality as well. In the days before when we did not obey the Son. When we lived for ourselves. Maybe willfully, and maybe in complete ignorance! When we practiced sin and unfaithfulness, when we completely disregarded the ALMIGHTY!
God’s wrath was waiting for us.
But we have been forgiven of those days! We have been pardoned of our sins! Our punishment has been placed on the Son of God, bore on the cross of Calvary, punishment no longer awaits us but glory and peace with God!
“Then you will say on that day, “I will give thanks to You, O Lord; For although You were angry with me,Your anger is turned away, And You comfort me.”
Why does he give thanks to God? Because the wrath of God has been removed.
And I think one of the greatest pitfalls in the Christian life is to become ungrateful in this life for our great salvation.
To take it for granted the fact that God has forgiven us! That God has wiped our slate clean! That God in His tender mercies has taken upon Himself to cleanse us from the things that once enslaved us and adopted us as His children!
Remember when Paul said, give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
How can we be thankful in all things?
BECAUSE THIS REALITY NEVER CHANGES FOR US!
Even if we weren’t 100% faithful this past week, we are forgiven
Even if the current circumstances in our lives are not absolutely perfect, our sins are still forgiven
No matter what situation we find ourselves in, this reality never changes for those who are in Christ.
The longer we go to church, the easier it is to assimilate into its culture. After a while, doing the good, “Christian” thing may not be hard anymore because you’ve stopped committing the glaring sins that initially drove you to seek God’s mercy. Since you’re no longer operating out of a sense of gratitude for that forgiveness, the only validation left is how much affirmation you get from people acknowledging your spiritual performance.
In this state, when someone other than you gets praise or a position in church that could have gone to you, it can feel like an existential crisis is imminent.
A typical progression for someone who is used to attention from people but no longer receives it can look something like:
Panic – Why am I being overlooked?Anger – I’m not getting the attention I deserve.Resentment – I don’t feel valued.Divisiveness – I’m going to pursue my own agenda.
If you find yourself relating to this series of emotions and feeling you are deserving of more recognition, there’s a good chance that somewhere along the way your focus moved off of God and onto people.
Draw from the wells of God again
Draw from the wells of God again
Isaiah 12:3
Isaiah 12:3 (NASB95)
Therefore you will joyously draw water From the springs (wells) of salvation.
We need to think about what a well is
Wells were very important to Israel, in a dry and desert land. They were a constant source of water and refreshment. They were essential to Israelite life. Every place in the desert could be completely dry but yet when one comes to the well he will find a never-ending source of water.
It reminds us of the Samaritan woman at the well we read about three weeks ago who came to the well of Jacob to draw water. And Jesus was there and told her if she would ask Him for water, she would never thirst again.
The idea os the well is that they refresh and they never dry up. They are able to supply in the driest of seasons, and provide all the water one could drink until they are completely satisfied.
What does it mean to draw water from the springs of salvation?
The metaphor of “wells of water” or “springs of water” refer to God in the OT
Jeremiah 2:13 “They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters”
Jeremiah 17:13 “O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the Lord.”
So this is a picture of God’s people drawing from Him once again. And even more specifically trusting in God once again for their very source of life.
Their protection, their guidance, their hope, their joy, their very existence was to be fully dependent upon God.
This is a picture of great dependency upon the Lord.
Verse 2 says, “I will trust and not be afraid”
Every worry, every need, every direction is placed before the throne of God.
And this is what God expects for us today
To draw water from the wells of God.
To continuously come to Him, draw from Him, trust in Him, abide in Him
I want us to really focus on the is the joy that accompanies the drawing from the wells of God “You will joyously draw water”
There is an inexplainable, irreplaceable, joy that one receives when they continuously come to the wells of God and drink
When God is our refuge, and we run to Him, it produces joy!
When we bring the needs in our life before God, it produces joy!
When we trust in the promises of God and stand boldly upon His word it produces joy!
John Piper said in a sermon, “One of the greatest dangers for missionaries, pastors, and Christians is drying up and dying. Losing all interest, losing all hope. Not having any care, any desire, and any joy in God or Christ or salvation or the church or the word anymore.”
And why would a Christian who has experienced salvation, deliverance, freedom from sin dry up?
Because they have stopped drinking from the wells of God and are parched, and bitter, and thirsty and instead of running to God for Him to save them, they run to a thousand other things trying to quench that thirst.
What we must do is go back to where we began as brand new believers, searching for God with all of our hearts, longing for God with all of our hearts, thanking God with all of our hearts, praising God with all of our hearts that He has called us into His great mercy and love.
When we drink from the wells of God, we overflow into the lives of others
When we drink from the wells of God, we overflow into the lives of others
And in that day you will say, “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted.” Praise the Lord in song, for He has done excellent things; Let this be known throughout the earth. Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
In verse 1, there was one individual giving thanks to God, but here that one is telling the world to give thanks to God for what He has done.
Isn’t that just how it works?
Thank God for His anger being turned away.
And then you will joyously draw water from the wells of God
And then You will tell others of His greatness
When we are continuously filled by the never ending supply of God, we cannot help but go and tell others about it.
Notice this “witness” to the nations is not something that God is commanding them to do.
They is witnessing out of the overflow of what God has done in their lives.
They are giving testimony because what they have experienced the mighty deeds of God.
And isn’t that what a witness is?
He tells other people what he has seen and heard
And that is what God calls us to be: Acts 1:8 “and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.””
Just think about the last time you really depended upon God for something. Of you went through a difficult time when you were coming to God constantly.
And then God pulled you through that, met that need, ministered to your broken heart. You naturally want to give testimony to others about that.
I think the reason people have a hard time witnessing is because they have not drank from the wells of God in so long, they really don’t have anything to say
They have lived their lives drawing from other sources of water which cannot satisfy the soul
Whether it be people
Or worldly pursuits
or their own ideas they think are going to bring them satisfaction
Or praise from others
Or any other kind of idolatry,
And so as a result they lose their joy, and they begin to dry up, and then they have very little to offer the world in testimony about what God is doing in their lives
Our testimonies should not be only about that time that God saved us. The only highlight about God in our lives should not be 12 years ago when I passed from death to life.
“make His deed(s) known among. the peoples”
That is what God is continuously doing in your lives
How God is working in your life right now, the hand of God how is He working in your life?
How God is transforming you right now
How God is maturing you right now!
How God is sanctifying you!
How God is using you!
God does not save us and leave us
God saves and then continuously shapes and molds all throughout ones life
CONCLUSION
Remember what our salvation is. It is God’s wrath being turned away from us, our sins being forgiven forever, and to experience the comfort of the living God through the Holy Spirit.
Drink from the never ending supply of God’s water.
Draw from Him, not this world, lest you dry up and wither away
Don’t keep it in, but tell others of God’s greatness
But none of this is possible until we have forsaken this world and humbly come to the throne of God’s grace and cried out for mercy for our sinful rebellion again Him
And if you have not done that today is the day. This is the age of grace in which God saves and forgives those who turn to Him.
~PRAYER~
